BY Rachel Montpelier
Rachel Ward’s “Palm Beach” Will Open 2019 Sydney Film Festival
Rachel Ward’s latest will kick things off at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. The Sydney Morning Herald confirms “Palm Beach,” an ensemble comedy about a group of friends...
Cannes: Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s Stacy L. Smith Partners with Women in Motion
Annenberg Inclusion Initiative founder and director Stacy L. Smith is joining forces with Women in Motion, Kering and the Cannes Film Festival’s program spotlighting women in film. According...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Rachel Lears May Reunite for Green New Deal Doc
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her “Knock Down the House” director, Rachel Lears, may be teaming up on another timely documentary. According to Axios, the pair are “in...
“Batwoman,” “Katy Keene,” and “Nancy Drew” Score Series Orders at The CW
The CW has ordered three women-driven series for its 2019-2020 season. Variety confirms the network picked up the Ruby Rose-led “Batwoman,” “Riverdale” spinoff “Katy Keene,” and...
Writer to Watch: Katie Silberman of “Booksmart” and “Set It Up”
Katie Silberman has an affinity for romantic comedies. She penned 2018’s Netflix hit “Set It Up,” a story about two assistants falling in love while plotting to get their terrible...
Trailer Watch: A Warrior Stays True to Herself in Cannes’ “Joan of Arc”
Lyanna Mormont fans, take note. Cannes will see the arrival of another strong-willed, self-assured, pint-sized female warrior. A trailer has arrived for “Joan of Arc,” in which a...
Weekly Update for May 3: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Tell It to the Bees – Directed by Annabel Jankel; Written by Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth (Also Available on VOD) “Tell It to the Bees” Dr. Jean...
Trailer Watch: An Iconic Filmmaker Fights for Māori Stories in ARRAY Doc “Merata”
As the first Māori woman to write and direct a feature film, Merata Mita focused on telling New Zealand’s indigenous peoples’ stories on the screen. But as her son Hepi Mita notes in the...
Amy Poehler, Issa Rae, and More Will Be Honored at Women In Film Annual Gala
Amy Poehler, Issa Rae, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cathy Schulman are heading to the 2019 Women In Film Annual Gala. According to a press release from Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIF LA), these ladies...
Trailer Watch: Emma and Lyn Revamp Their Mother’s Bar in “Vida” Season 2
A trailer for Season 2 of “Vida” has arrived and sisters Emma and Lyn have officially moved back to the old neighborhood and are determined to make their late mother’s failing,...
Quote of the Day: Oprah Talks Empowerment and Opportunity
Oprah Winfrey has delivered yet another inspirational speech, this time at The Hollywood Reporter’s first-ever Empowerment in Entertainment gala. Accepting the inaugural Empowerment in...
Liz Meriwether Signs Big Overall Deal with 20th Century Fox TV
Liz Meriwether is sticking with 20th Century Fox TV. Deadline confirms the prolific TV writer, creator, EP, and showrunner has inked a “rich four-year overall deal” with the studio,...
Paloma Baeza to Direct Animated Frida Kahlo Biopic for Lupus Films and Universal
Paloma Baeza’s second feature film will celebrate the life and work of Frida Kahlo. Baeza is set to direct an as-yet untitled animated movie about the renowned Mexican artist for the...
Trailer Watch: June Is a Resistance Leader in “The Handmaid’s Tale” Season 3
The second season finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale” saw June, the series’ narrator and protagonist, opting to stay in the fundamentalist totalitarian state of Gilead instead of...
The Obamas’ Netflix Slate Includes Sundance Winner “American Factory” and a Callie Khouri TV Drama
Barack and Michelle Obama have finally announced the project slate for their Netflix-based Higher Ground Productions — and it does not disappoint. Currently, Higher Ground is producing seven...
Trailer Watch: Daisy Ridley Redefines a Character We Think We Know in “Ophelia”
We all know the story: Something is rotten in Denmark. A prince wants to avenge his father’s murder, but can’t quite seem to summon the gumption. A widow marries her late husband’s...
WGA Inclusion Report Card: There Is “Systemic Discrimination” in Hiring of TV Writers
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) has issued an Inclusion Report Card for the 2017-2018 TV season, and it seems writers’ rooms are still struggling to make the grade when it comes to...
“Captain Marvel” Becomes Highest-Grossing Woman-Directed Film at Domestic Box Office
Diana Prince isn’t the only female superhero to break major barriers. As of this past weekend, “Captain Marvel” has netted $413.6 million domestically — officially besting...
Sally El Hosaini Will Direct Yusra Mardini Biopic “The Swimmers”
Sally El Hosaini is bringing Olympian swimmer and Syrian refugee Yusra Mardini’s story to the big screen. Screen Daily confirms El Hosaini is directing “The Swimmers,” a biopic...
“Surviving R. Kelly” Follow-Up Will Air on Lifetime, Soledad O’Brien Hosting
Women — and women of color more specifically— have been making accusations of sexual abuse against R. Kelly for decades. Those allegations were finally taken seriously with the broadcast...
Hot Docs 2019 Women Directors: Meet Tülin Özdemir – “Red Moon”
Tülin Özdemir’s work asks the question, “Who is today’s modern woman?” The filmmaker made her first short documentary, “Our Wedding,” in 2008 and expanded on its...
Weekly Update for April 26: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Body at Brighton Rock – Written and Directed by Roxanne Benjamin (Also Available on VOD) “Body at Brighton Rock” Wendy (Karina Fontes), a part-time summer...
Trailer Watch: A Woman Fights to Find Her Stolen Baby Girl in Cannes Pic “Canción sin nombre”
A relatively stress-free pregnancy and birth precede a tragedy in Melina León’s “Canción sin nombre” (“Song Without a Name”). A newly released trailer for the Cannes’...
Apply Now: CinemaStreet Women’s Short Screenplay Competition
CinemaStreet Pictures is hosting a contest for short scripts from female screenwriters. The CinemaStreet Women’s Short Screenplay Competition is accepting women-penned scripts of 20 pages or...
Trailer Watch: Jill Magid Blends Her Art with a Famous Architect’s Legacy in “The Proposal”
Artist and filmmaker Jill Magid’s exhibition “The Proposal” has been called “ghoulish,” “grotesque,” and a “desecration,” as well as...
Submit Now: Women In Film’s 2019 Finishing Fund
Women In Film (WIF) is now accepting submissions for its 2019 Finishing Fund. The fund offers grants to female filmmakers who have a rough cut and at least 90 percent of principal photography...
Amy Sherman-Palladino & Daniel Palladino Bringing Mary Gabriel’s “Ninth Street Women” to Amazon
If you enjoyed Midge and Rose’s adventures in the art world during Season 2 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” you’re going to love Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel...
“The Good Fight” Renewed for Season 4 at CBS All Access
Diane Lockhart, Lucca Quinn, Maia Rindell, and Liz Reddick-Lawrence will keep up “The Good Fight” for at least another season. Per Variety, CBS All Access has renewed the “Good...
Emma Thompson Will Topline Environmental Activism Short “Extinction”
Not only is Emma Thompson a supporter of environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion in real life, she’ll be playing one in a satirical short film, too. The two-time Oscar winner is set...
“Saving Face” Writer-Director Alice Wu Sets Lesbian Teen Romance at Netflix
Alice Wu is following up her beloved 2004 romance “Saving Face” with another tale of secrets, Chinese-American culture and expectations, and LGBTQ love. According to Deadline, the...
Phylicia Rashad to Make Broadway Directorial Debut with “Blue”
Phylicia Rashad is returning to the theater, but this time she’ll be working behind the scenes. Deadline confirms the Tony-winning actress is making her Broadway directorial debut with Charles...
Jennifer Lopez Will Star in Kat Coiro Rom-Com “Marry Me”
Jennifer Lopez is returning to the screen — and the stage. The multi-hyphenate will portray a pop star in “Marry Me,” a rom-com from director Kat Coiro and STXfilms. According to...
Cannes 2019: Only One Woman-Directed Film Selected for Critics’ Week Feature Competition
The 2019 Cannes Film Festival continues to disappoint. Last week it was announced that only four women-helmed films will screen in the fest’s main competition. Now, per Deadline, the...
Weekly Update for April 19: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Little Woods – Written and Directed by Nia DaCosta This Tribeca winner sees Tessa Thompson playing a woman facing a handful of crises in Little Woods, North Dakota....
Trailer Watch: Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” Spotlights Injustice of Central Park Five Case
“There is injustice happening here,” says an activist (Adepero Oduye, “Pariah”) in the trailer for Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five story “When They See...
Niki Caro, Haifaa Al-Mansour, and More to Attend New Zealand’s Power of Inclusion Summit
Women in Film and Television International and the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) are tackling inclusion in the film industry. With support from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and...
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo to Topline and Write Comedy “Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar”
If you had a dream last night and Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo were in it, we’ve got good news for you: the “Bridesmaids” writers are collaborating on another feature comedy....
Jessica Mecklenburg Adapting Liv Constantine’s “The Last Mrs. Parrish” as Amazon Series
Jessica Mecklenburg is bringing a tale of social climbing and assumed identity to Amazon. The former “Stranger Things” co-executive producer will pen and EP a TV adaptation of Liv...
Shakespeare’s Globe Hosting “Women & Power” Festival
Next month, Shakespeare’s Globe will put on a festival dedicated to “Women & Power.” From May 12-18, the iconic theater will host a series of performances, panels, workshops,...
Yolande Zauberman Will Chair Cannes’ Golden Eye Jury
Another Cannes jury will be led by a woman filmmaker. According to Cineuropa, “M” director Yolande Zauberman has been tapped to chair the Golden Eye Jury, which evaluates the...
Trailer Watch: Virginia Woolf Falls in Love in “Vita & Virginia”
Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West’s love affair apparently began before the women even met. A trailer for Chanya Button’s biopic about the lovers, “Vita &...
Phoebe Waller-Bridge Tapped to Do Touch Ups on “Bond 25” Script
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is bringing her signature dark sense of humor to the next James Bond film. Variety confirms the “Fleabag” and “Killing Eve” creator has been tasked with...
Middle Eastern Netflix Drama “AlRawabi School for Girls” On the Way, Features All-Female Cast & Crew
If “Derry Girls” left you craving more international, women-created young adult series set in all-girls schools, you’re in luck. Netflix’s newest project is “AlRawabi...
Jackie Sibblies Drury Wins Drama Pulitzer for “Fairview”
For the third straight year, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama has been awarded to a woman playwright. The Hollywood Reporter confirms Jackie Sibblies Drury won the Pulitzer for “Fairview.”...
’60s-Set “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” Spinoff Coming to Acorn TV
Phryne Fisher’s legacy lives on. A spinoff of the feminist, sex positive “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” debuted earlier this year on Australia’s Seven Network and is now...
Cannes 2019 Official Poster Honors Agnès Varda
Cannes Film Festival is paying tribute to the late, great Agnès Varda. The fest released the official poster for its 2019 edition and it features a photograph of Varda shooting her first movie,...
Lena Waithe’s “Twenties” Ordered to Series at BET
We’re a step closer to getting Lena Waithe’s long-in-the-works series about a young queer black woman and her two straight BFFs. The Hollywood Reporter confirms “Twenties,”...
Kimberly Peirce to Receive Artemis Film Fest’s Unsung Heroine Award
The Artemis Women in Action Film Festival is set to honor Kimberly Peirce. The “Boys Don’t Cry” director will be presented with the Artemis Action Unsung Heroine Award at the...
Weekly Update for April 12: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING Little – Directed by Tina Gordon; Written by Tina Gordon and Tracy Oliver “Little” is “Big” but reversed and centered on a black girl —...
Teaser Watch: Rey Embraces Her Destiny in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”
The conclusion of the latest “Star Wars” movie trilogy finally has a title — “The Rise of Skywalker” — and a teaser trailer. We’re pleased to report that Rey...
Anna Deavere Smith Will Be Signature Theatre’s Playwright in Residence Next Season
Signature Theatre is getting in the Anna Deavere Smith business. As Deadline reports, the Off Broadway venue has appointed Smith its playwright in residence for the 2019-20 season and is staging...